Make Oakland Better Now's Mayoral Candidates' Questionnaire 2014 - Patrick McCullough

1. Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire
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Candidate: Patrick McCullough
Note: Please limit your answers to 250 words except where the question
indicates a different word limit.
1. Please state your position on the following November ballot measures along with a brief
(No more than 30 word) statement supporting your position.
 Measure Z: Public Safety (Parcel tax for police, fire and violence prevention programs)
This product of dishonest politics and failed compromises won’t deliver enough
cops or the fruits of “crime prevention”. My honest funding proposals will
improve public safety and confidence in taxation.
 Measure CC: Public Ethics (Restructuring of Public Ethics Commission and mandatory
funding for its staff)
High price for specious benefit that could insulate offenders from real
prosecution. Bigger bureaucracy isn’t the solution for politicians’ greed, cronyism
and unwillingness to be virtuous and honest. Leadership is.
 Measure DD: Redistricting (Citizens’ redistricting commission for City Council
boundaries )
Bigger bureaucracy isn’t the solution. Force the self-serving councilors to be
honest and cease walking the path of temporal selfishness. It’s shameful they
endorse DD instead of committing to selflessness.
2. As of May 31st, the OPD had 649 sworn police personnel, and projected that it would
have 681 by July and 716 by December, 2014. 63 of these officers are funded by Measure Y,
which expires at the end of this year, and 35 by Federal grants, which, if not renewed, will expire
next year. If the voters elect you in November, how many police will Oakland have as of the end
of 2018? If you plan to either maintain current levels or increase them, describe how you will
fund police (a) if Measure Z succeeds and if it fails; (b) if current grants for police are renewed
or replaced and if they are not.
I plan for approximately 900 officers. (a) If Z succeeds I will seek to change or rescind it
and replace it with honest funding proposals. (b) If federal grants are renewed I’ll use
them, but my proposals will be sufficient and adaptable.

2. 3. OPD’s difficulty in achieving the authorized sworn staffing level appears to
be exacerbated by high attrition and low morale, as shown by the department’s internal polling
(http://tiny.cc/OPDPoliceSurvey) and it’s loss of officers only months after they complete their
training. How will you solve OPD’s attrition and morale problems?
By my unique personal experience and qualities; I will represent to them a leader who
won’t stab them in the back, won’t let them down, and be the mayor who can solve those
problems and make it easier being a cop in Oakland. A mayor who has personal broad
and deep experience with law enforcement, has cops in his family, has worked on their
gear, has walked in their shoes, and who has stood up for them, will earn their respect,
cooperation, and trust.
4. OPD has been under Federal Court supervision for close to twelve years. While
Oaklanders have repeatedly been told that the end is in sight, in late July, Judge Henderson
stated that Oakland’s disciplinary processes have violated Court orders, and that continuing the
same practices will "undermine any confidence in the sustainability of the reforms that have
been and continue to be achieved." Then, on August 14, the Judge criticized the City’s recent
inability to sustain through arbitration an officer termination in connection with response to the
Occupy Oakland protests. (Source: http://tiny.cc/ArbOrder.) The Court opined that Oakland
could not be in compliance with two NSA tasks if internal investigations were inadequate and
“discipline is not consistently imposed.” Many people believe the Monitor has repeatedly
imposed requirements on Oakland that far exceed the literal requirements of the NSA, and that
as a result of the Monitor’s shifting standards, Oakland may never be able to extricate itself from
Court supervision. As Mayor, to what extent would you be prepared to oppose continued and
changing demands from the Monitor, and what is your plan to end the era of Court supervision?
I am prepared to go to that extent necessary. My plan to end the Court supervision
includes presenting an assessment showing that Oakland is in substantial compliance
with the most important items and there is no need for continued Court supervision.
5. According to the Public Works Department, Oakland is on an 85-year repaving schedule,
meaning a street that is repaved today won’t be repaved again for 85 years. Further, according
to Public Works, maintaining the existing pavement condition on Oakland’s streets would
require an estimated $28 million annually, while the amount allocated annually has been less
than $6 million in recent years. Sixty percent of the City’s curb ramps are non-compliant or non-existent.
The total needed to rehabilitate Oakland streets is over $435 million. How do you plan
to reverse the ongoing deterioration of our streets and sidewalks? If you are elected, when will
Oaklanders see a difference?
Street improvement is a component of my general plan to change service delivery in
Oakland. I plan to bypass the wastefully expensive way infrastructure projects are done,
and also increase efficiency and local economics by training and hiring our residents to
do much of the work.
6. The extent to which the City faces unfunded liabilities and what should be done about
them has been a contentious issue in recent years. As recently as last December, the City
Administrator projected that for the three fiscal years beginning July 1, 2015, Oakland faces all-funds
budget structural shortfalls totaling $795 million if it addresses its deferred capital
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3. expenses and deferred liabilities, and $342 million if it does not (Source: December 12, 2013
Update to Five-Year Financial Forecast, Attachment D, http://tiny.cc/5yrupdate.) Do you believe
Oakland faces a financial shortfall, and if so, how will you address it if elected in November?
We’ve been facing a shortfall since before the 2008 elections, when I broached – but the
council ignored – the subject. Without explanation, suddenly, a month after the election,
the council frantically held a budget crisis summit. My general plan to restructure the
delivery of government services will help ease the debt. I’ll do more as needed.
7. Operation Ceasefire has been described as the centerpiece of Oakland’s violent crime
reduction effort. We understand that funding for its manager has been dependent on grant
funding and that there is an insufficient number of case managers to maximize Ceasefire’s
success. Do you plan to expand Operation Ceasefire? In what respect? Where specifically do
you intend to allocate resources and staffing?
I don’t plan to expand any program before I do an independent review as mayor.
8. What is your understanding of the relative responsibilities of the Mayor and City
Administrator as established in the Charter? What are the duties of each? What is the Council’s
responsibility in this regard?
The Mayor is the primary leader; the Administrator is the chief manager of the city’s
departments. The council is the legislative body charged with enacting necessary
proposals and communicating the desires of the represented constituents.
9.. If the voters elect you in November, will Oaklanders see changes in the following from
City Government? If so, what changes and why?:
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 Leadership
 Management
 Strategic Planning
 Transparency
Of course there will be changes; they’ll see them because they will have elected me. I am
completely capable of making improvement and desire to do so.
10. In 2012-2013, Oakland contracted with Strategic Policy Partners (Robert Wasserman et
al) to present a comprehensive public safety plan. Strategic Policy Partners made a large
number of recommendations, some of which have been implemented and some of which have
not. (The reports are here: http://tiny.cc/SPPReport, http://tiny.cc/Bratton1,
http://tiny.cc/SPPBest) If the voters elect you in November, please state whether Oakland will
implement the following recommendations (We are looking for a “yes” or “no” answer as to each
recommendation, with explanatory narrative not exceeding 25 words for each recommendation):
 Call for Service Reduction strategy;
No. When Oakland residents call to report an actual or potential crime, I want a
cop or qualified technician to arrive very soon.

4.  Expanded investigation capacity in each of the City’s 5 policing districts, so that each
district has an investigative sergeant, 3 investigators, and 3 to 5 police
officers.
No. Not every district needs the same number.
 Increased sworn police personnel to a ratio of 2 officers for every 1,000 in the population
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(i.e., 800).
Yes – on the way to 900.
 Expansion of the Ceasefire initiative.
No – initially. I’ll assess the efficacy of this and other means of encouraging law
compliance before deciding to recommend expansion or changes.
 Redesign of community policing, so that the entire Police Department, not just PSOs,
are focused on community relationship building.
I want the entire police department to focus exclusively on achieving the goals of
crime reduction and prevention. I will see to it that we incorporate community
policing, relationship building, peace-making, and investigation into our strategy
for meeting those goals. We mustn’t let rhetoric and flavor-of-the-month buzz
words command our focus.
 Measurement of the state of community / police relations.
What a waste of money that would be. As Bob Dylan sang: It don’t take a
weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
 Moving restorative justice practices into the community, to address neighborhood
disorder and minor crimes in a manner that brings community into the process and
prevents future crime and disorder occurrences.
What particular RJ practices? What particular manner? Rhetoric must not lead
reason.
 Appointing a Director of Community Improvement who will be responsible for
coordinating collaborative action by city agencies, community groups and state and
federal partners, to address both quality of life issues and crime.
No! We don’t need another bureaucracy. Whomever is already responsible must
do their job. This is the job of the Mayor.
 Appointing a team of representatives from the community to work with the Director of
Community Improvement, the Police Department and other government agencies to
insure community coordination.
Duplicative efforts will not result in twice the good result. Elect me to do it as
Mayor.

5.  Bringing Security Ambassadors into the crime reduction strategic plan and require
advanced training to those who patrol downtown areas, so they are active and have the
ability to intervene in minor situations that impact public security.
Yes. I believe that employing Security Ambassadors can help reduce crime.
11. In early 2010, Oakland’s Finance and Management Committee received a presentation
from staff and visiting personnel from the City of Baltimore concerning CitiStat, a leadership
strategy a mayor can employ to mobilize city agencies to produce specific results. (More
information is at http://tiny.cc/q00ojx ). CitiStat involves use of a round-the-clock 311 reporting
system for any request for city services other than policing. It uses data in a manner similar to
ComStat. High level city management uses the 311-generated data and benchmarks and
regular meetings to hold departments accountable, judge successes and failure, reveal what
agencies are doing and not doing to achieve benchmarks and provide the best possible
services to residents. Explain your familiarity with CitiStat and whether you believe such a
program can and should be implemented in Oakland. If you do not believe it should be
implemented in the near future, explain why. If you think it should, explain what you will do to
implement it and when this will be accomplished.
I am very familiar with a similar system used in a neighboring city. It seems to be another
patented gimmick meant to replace common sense and diligence.
12. Oakland has room to improve its policies in the areas of crime reduction, budget
processes, street maintenance, and economic maintenance. What cities can Oakland learn
from, and adopt or emulate policies from with respect to these subjects? What policies from
other cities would benefit Oakland?
Oakland needs to stop learning and start implementing wisdom. We can learn from
others, but it is best to learn from within.
13. Do you support the following policies and, briefly, why or why not?
A. Creation by Charter amendment of a Rainy day fund as recommended by MOBN! and
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the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC)?
No more amendments are needed.
B. Annual polling of city residents on their satisfaction with city services? What would
you do with that information?
Again, it don’t take a weatherman – nor an annual poll, to know which way the wind
blows. While some may feign ignorance for political advantage, not everyone is clueless.
C. Conducting a police resource deployment study to determine the number of officers
actually need by OPD and how they should be deployed?
Study it long enough and it will change? Are people really so un-knowing? Paralysis by
analysis.

6. D. Will you support the preparation of a comprehensive public safety plan?
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Yes, if I’m taking part in the planning.